Pain
by OceanSparks
Summary: While out on patrol, Peter is brutally stabbed by a new villain known as Markus Zolander. Meanwhile, Tony gets the notification from Jarvis that he hoped to never hear.


**So I saw all the Iron-Dad fanfictions and knew I had to write one myself—with lots of whump! (and I'm also coping with Endgame…..) **

**-This is in a perfect AU where Civil War, Infinity War, and Endgame never happened.**

**-also, this is my second-ever fanfic (first set in the MCU) and reviews are very welcome!**

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As the final bell for the school day rang, Peter straightened and practically leapt up out of his desk, grabbing his backpack in a smooth motion. The day had been extraordinarily long and boring, and he was itching for a chance to get some action from his patrol as Spider-Man later on.

Pausing for only a few brief comments with Ned and MJ, Peter strode down the hallway to his locker, gathered his things, then raced out the door.

As soon as he pushed the door open, Peter breathed in the cool fall air, letting it fill his lungs and reinvigorate him after the school day. He walked down the steps and hurried home, filled with carefree happiness, and not a clue about what the rest of day would bring.

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Hours later, Peter swung between the skyscrapers of New York. Having successfully completed all of his homework, he had put on the suit and slipped out his window, eager for some fresh air.

Since then, Peter had helped stop a thief from breaking into a car, saved two cats, and saved an old lady from a break-in. Now, as he used his webs to swing between the tall buildings, he was ready for more.

"Hey Karen," Peter spoke to his A.I.

"Yes, Peter? What do you need?" came the reply.

"Is there any confirmed police or criminal activity around here?" asked Peter.

The A.I. waited for a few seconds before replying as she scanned. "There seems to be an escaped convict, Marcus Zolander, seven blocks south of here at a bank."

"On it. Thanks Karen" Peter turned south and began to heading in the correct direction. He knew he was getting pretty close when he heard shouting in front of a bank. Looking down, a few moments later he saw who he assumed to be Zolander, decked out in tactical gear. He was drawing seemingly endless amounts of knives from his vest and pockets, then hurling them at windows in the adjacent buildings.

_Definitely a good time to step in_, thought Peter. _Before anyone gets hurt._

"HEY! Knifey dude!" yelled Peter, drawing the criminal's attention. The burly man grunted and turned, revealing a hardened face with a huge scar stretching from just under his left eye to his right ear.

"Is that all you can come up with, Spider-Freak?!" Zolander shot back, clearly unamused with the jab. "Well at least it's a good thing you're here now, I was wondering how long it would take you to show up." And with that, he drew two barbed knives and threw them quickly enough that Peter almost didn't see them coming. Luckily his spider sense warned him and he was able to dodge.

"Maybe Knifey Dude isn't the right name for you after all," considered Peter. "I guess I'll have to come up with another one just to make a _point_!" And with that pun, he threw himself at the man.

Zolander drew several more knives (_Seriously! How many does this guy have?_) and began throwing them in rapid succession. Peter flipped gracefully in the air to avoid the first two, then began ducking once he landed on the ground to dodge the others.

"Wow, your knife skills are looking pretty _sharp_ aren't they?!" quipped Peter as he completely avoided all of the metal objects. "But I guess they just aren't as polished as they should be, because look!" he glanced down and seemed to examine himself. "None of them touched me!"

Zolander just smirked slightly, and once Peter saw this, his spider-sense went haywire. He tensed, alert for any more attacks. But it wasn't until the knives embedded in the wall behind him began emitting a very high-pitched frequency that he realized what the true problem was.

As the shrill whine filled the small street, Peter felt absolute agony inside his skull. Some still coherent part of him realized that his heightened senses were working against him, but it became increasingly more difficult to think as the noise seemed to permeate his entire being. Just as Peter felt he could no longer stand, the noise shut off.

Grateful, he opened his eyes…..only to see Zolander right in front of him with an enourmous knife in his hand. Peter tried to dodge, but he was too late. His assailant plunged the knife directly into his abdomen up to the hilt.

Pain.

White cold hot pain.

That was all Peter felt.

Dimly, he heard Karen talking in his ear. Something about 'Baby Monitor Protocol' and 'If you don't talk to me right now, I'm calling Mr. Stark!'

But as Peter cracked open his eyes, the only thing he could focus on was Marcus Zolander uncapping a syringe, plunging it into his neck, and standing up with a satisfied smile.

Then the world swirled into darkness.

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Tony Stark looked up from his work table when his very loud ACDC music shut off.

"Jarvis? Put my music back on please," he called absentmindedly.

"I'm afraid I can't." came the curt reply. "There is an incoming transmission from the Baby Monitor Protocol. My systems indicate that it is a code red."

There was a system of color codes that Tony had installed in Peter's suit. Green was all good. Yellow was a minor injury, like a scrape or cut. Orange was worse, but still capable of being dealt with by Peter. Red was a very grave, life-threatening injury. The last one was the worst because Tony couldn't being himself to install one indicating death.

The mechanic went very still as his blood turned to ice. "Where is Peter?! Give me coordinates NOW and debrief me!" He raced to the nearest suit and began climbing in.

"It seems that Mister Parker has been stabbed. The weapon is a knife, and I am receiving intel that it is four inches wide, and roughly a foot long. Also, Peter is losing a large amount of blood extremely quickly."

By the end of this statement, Tony was already inside his suit and had broken through the window in a panic.

"Get me there as fast as you can." Tony could feel a panic attack approaching as he considered the implications of being stabbed with a knife that large.

"I can direct you there in roughly eight minutes."

"Make it four!" Tony was close to hyperventilating now. If Peter had nicked an artery, then even four minutes would be too late.

Flying through the city in record time, Tony made it to where Peter lay motionless on the ground. He looked so small, and with the size of the pool of blood underneath him, it didn't look good.

"Jarvis scan now. Give me vitals." Tony didn't care that he was hyperventilating, he just needed to know that Peter would be safe.

One second went by. Then two. Then five. It was ten before Jarvis answered, and even then he seemed to hesitate.

"I am sorry Sir, but there is no heartbeat detected."

Tony's voice came out raspy and stunned. "No….no scan again. SCAN AGAIN!" By now he was full on panicking, his heart pounding in his chest and his breaths coming too quickly.

"Still no heartbeat …..I am truly sorry Sir but Mister Parker is no longer alive."

All Tony felt was a rush of emotion, and he exited the suit, collapsed on his knees and sobbed.

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**So what do you think? Tell me in the reviews because reviews motivate me to write more!**


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